Northern Arizona University saw its sixth consecutive year of record-breaking enrollment and welcomed its second largest freshman class in university history this fall.
The university released its 21-day head count this week, with a total enrollment of 25,364 students, up from last year’s 25,204. The fall semester included enrollment of more than 3,800 new freshmen, compared with the largest freshman class of 4,132 last year.
The population grew on the Flagstaff campus by 232 students from 17,529 to 17,761.
Along with record enrollment, the university is reporting an all-time high 72.5 percent one-year full-time retention rate.
David Bousquet, senior vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, said the university is focused on increasing retention and graduation rates through student engagement, most notably through programs like Peer Jacks, student success coaching and the First-Year Learning Initiative.
“The university’s faculty and staff are dedicated to developing new teaching and learning methods and improving existing programs and systems that contribute to student success,” Bousquet said. “NAU President John Haeger has emphasized student success and university employees have embraced the challenge.”
Online enrollment increased to 3,293 students for the fall semester, a population that has nearly doubled since 2006.
“The online enrollment growth is a clear indication that the university is meeting students’ needs for an affordable, convenient pathway to a high-quality education,” said Fred Hurst, senior vice president of Extended Campuses.
NAU also saw increases in the ethnic student population, specifically in Latino and international students. The number of Latino students increased by 7.7 percent over last year from 3,843 to 4,139 students, and international enrollment is up 5 percent from 866 to 911 students.
View the complete enrollment report on the Planning, Budget and Institutional Research website.